Scope for Imagination
by Anne-girl1
Summary: *COMPLETED* I wrote this for fun. A girl from the present goes through time to the time of Anne Shirley.
1. Chapter One

Chapter One  
  
" 'God's in His Heaven, all's right with the world,' whispered Anne softly." I closed the book and looked at the front cover. A little girl with red hair and shining grey eyes stared back at me, a picture I had long wanted to resemble. The cover name Anne of Green Gables was written grandly across the top. I sighed and put the book back on the shelf. Taking down a slip of paper, I took out a pencil and checked a dash on it, signifying that I had just the book for the fifth time. It was the most out of the entire series, except for the third: Anne of the Island, my favorite. I couldn't even remember how many times I had read that one.  
  
In a sentence, I consider myself the biggest fan of Miss Anne Shirley. How many long hours had I sat at my window, wishing it was real and I didn't have to live in the stupid present with cars and DVD players and rap. Why did I have to live in the year 2002 where there was no innocent romance anymore and nobody could cheer themselves up by simply looking at the mere beauty in nature around them?  
  
Another sigh and I climbed off my bed and sat down at my desk to finish my algebra homework. Trying to be clever, I thought, "There's no scope for imagination in algebra."  
  
"Dinner, Ann!" I heard my mother call up the stairs. Getting up from my chair, I grumbled, thinking there was no scope for imagination in meatloaf either. *****************************  
  
"Morning you guys," I smiled at Sara and Mell at our usual table in the high school library. They returned my greeting and I pulled up a chair to join them.  
  
"It's Friday, isn't it? Of course I forgot the vocabulary quiz for English and I have Civics first. But it'll be a good day." I brushed my brown hair away from my face. "What are you studying for today, Sara?"  
  
"Biology. I had dance team till really late last night and I didn't have time to study."  
  
Mell sat drawing on her notepad.  
  
"I actually did my math homework last night, so I have more time to listen to Weezer."  
  
Sara and I laughed. Mell put down her pencil for a moment to get out her headphones from her backpack.  
  
The first bell rang a few minutes later and I started off down the stairs, mumbling complaints about Civics class.  
  
The day passed slowly and finally it was lunch, second to last period. I pulled out my Anne book, elapsing into silence and staring into space, dreaming of clover fields and wild flowers and Lover's Lane.  
  
"Hey," a hand waved in front of my face. A tall boy was looking skeptically at me with arched eyebrows.  
  
"Sorry, hey Mike," the sophomore sat at the bench for a minute.  
  
"Whatcha readin'?" He yanked my precious book out of my grasp and looked at it.  
  
"Anne of the Island," I answered, trying to grab the book back.  
  
"It looks long and boring," he replied, throwing the book on the table, "I don't like to read."  
  
"That's obvious," I rolled my eyes and he left, joining his other friends in the lunch line. Again I began to daydream, staring after him, not really looking at him at all, but through him to an invisible world.  
  
"Hey Piano Ann!" Mell arrived, carrying a tray of food.  
  
"Hi Mell," giggling at the sound of my nickname.  
  
Lunch passed too quickly it seemed. It was raining steadily when I got home and the promise of a late fall thunderstorm hung in the air.  
  
Sure enough, thunder boomed and lightening cracked across the sky, illuminating my room. The wind whistled from somewhere, and I got up from reading to investigate, carrying my Anne book with me.  
  
The window was stuck next to my desk and I couldn't bring it down.  
  
"Come on stupid window," I muttered frustrated, pushing with all my might. It was an old window and my parents were in the process of putting in new screens. Right now, if you opened the window, you'd come right out to open air.  
  
I got an idea and pushed the window up instead of down to see if that would loosen it. It didn't help.  
  
"Oh, great," I clapped my hand to my forehand in anger, "this is just great."  
  
I stuck my head halfway out into the rain with the book in between my lips and pulled with both hands on the window. A bolt of lightening made me jump and my book fell from my mouth and out into the backyard.  
  
Using some colorful language, I rushed downstairs to grab a raincoat and boots to put on over my jeans and sweater. I flung open the side door and ran down the porch steps to the backyard.  
  
It was really dark and the trees were very eerie. I had grabbed a flashlight from the closet, and it only reached a few feet ahead of me. The wind howled over the roof of the house and the thunder was so loud I thought my eardrums would explode.  
  
I searched, breathlessly scolding myself. How could you do that? You're so stupid! That was your favorite book! I could hear the tree creaking overhead. We could always find dead fallen branches after every storm because the elm tree is very old. I hurried around even faster.  
  
What happened next was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to me, but wasn't very clear in memory. Before I had time to duck, a giant tree bough came tumbling down and everything went black. 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two  
  
I slowly opened my eyes. It was bright out. That's strange, I thought, wasn't it night? I shifted my head and looked around. I was lying in the middle of a big field, covered with wild flowers and tall grasses. It was so peaceful I almost forgot to be freaked out about it. I scrambled to my feet and started walking. Trying to remember what had just happened, I gazed around for something familiar. It was silent. There were no cars. Where's the highway? I thought confused, and the really loud and annoying fire station around the corner? It was almost too quiet. I came to a dirt road and looked right and then left. There was no sign of anyone anywhere. I took a left and walked for a distance. Then I realized I wasn't wearing my raincoat and big boots. Instead, I was dressed in a red plaid cotton dress that fell below my knees and a white cotton apron. Feeling my hair, I found it was braided into two plaits beside my ears. This is too weird. Suddenly I heard footsteps around the bend and gasped to see.Sara. She was wearing the same thing except blue and her golden hair was pulled into two braids on either side of her head.  
  
"Oh, Sara! I'm so relieved to see a familiar face! But, wait.why are you here of all places? Why am I here?"  
  
"I don't know. This is your fantasy."  
  
"Huh?" I pinched my forearm. Wincing, I shook my head. "This is no dream, it's more like a nightmare."  
  
"Come on, let's go."  
  
"Wait, wait, wait, stop. How did you get here?" I demanded of her.  
  
"I have no idea. Like I said, this is your fantasy."  
  
"But-  
  
"Come on."  
  
We started off in the direction I was going and Sara told me of her most recent recollections.  
  
"All of a sudden I was standing by this dirt road. Something just told me that you'd be here too. I don't know. It was weird."  
  
"Do you think anyone else got here too?"  
  
"Dunno."  
  
We walked in silence for a while until a carriage passed by. An old man sat upon it with his eyes shyly turned away from us. He had white hair reaching to his shoulders and he wore a suit. We watched him pass in silence and my mouth dropped.  
  
"I know who that could be."  
  
"Who?" Sara asked.  
  
"Matthew Cuthbert."  
  
"Uh, huh. OK."  
  
"No, I'm serious. I think it really was."  
  
"I told you, you read that book too much."  
  
"I do not."  
  
"Do too."  
  
"Do not."  
  
"Do too."  
  
"DO NOT."  
  
"Ok ok, do not. Sheesh."  
  
After that, we walked without talking once more to what promised to be a really dull afternoon. The sun was hot on my back and I could feel my neck starting to burn. By the time the sun was just above the brim of the hills, we had reached what looked like a town. There were more carriages and buildings started appearing on either side of the road. People were walking about in the same clothes as we wore. Confused, I stared around at the buildings. One said "William Blair's General Store" and another said "Avonlea Post Office." I started getting excited. I grabbed Sara's sleeve and looked up at her.  
  
"Sara, Sara! This is Avonlea! We're in Avonlea!"  
  
"Really? Oh I'm so excited! Why weren't we transferred to Baker Street instead?" I rolled my eyes.  
  
"Come on, let's go in the book store."  
  
We stepped through a door on the right and a bell tinkled from somewhere in the depths of the shop. We looked around for a while. There were only two other people in the shop besides us: the shopkeeper and.Mell.  
  
"Mell!" Sara gasped. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I don't know. This is Ann's fantasy."  
  
"Where have I heard that before?" I asked, coming up to say hi.  
  
"What are you doing in here, Mell?"  
  
"Well, I walked into this weird town and investigated. I wanted to see if they had any Weezer stuff." I guffawed, but didn't say anything.  
  
"Well, as we don't seem to be getting out of here anytime soon, we have to find somewhere to sleep."  
  
"I know just the place." I beckoned them out of the shop and through the town, back over the road. The sun was setting now and I was so exhausted from all that walking. I led my friends over a hill next to a white house with a picket fence around it, then through some woods and over a bridge to face.Green Gables.  
  
I nearly died with delight. I jumped up and down and skipped up the lane towards the front door. I knocked and beckoned the others to come over. A woman answered with dark hair pinned into a tight bun and a flowing kitchen apron on.  
  
"Yes?" she asked politely. I was shaking with excitement at the sight of Marilla Cuthbert.  
  
"Um, we're traveling through here and we need a place to sleep for the night. Do you think you could spare us?"  
  
"I'm sorry. But my brother is coming home with company and I'm afraid we won't have any room for the three of you."  
  
"Oh," my face fell, "well, have a nice evening."  
  
We walked back down the lane.  
  
"I guess we'll have to find a haystack or something." Sara said. I nodded glumly.  
  
Eventually we found an abandoned barn in the corner of a field. I found the most comfortable spot I could and fell exhausted into a welcome sleep.  
  
The next morning was bright and fair. I stretched and opened my eyes. For a split second, I forgot where I was. Then it all came back in a sickening, yet wonderful swoop. I stood up and climbed down the ladder, glancing at my sleeping friends.  
  
I breathed in the cool, fresh air and smelled a whiff of ocean breeze. I strolled down the road, hardly daring to believe that I was walking down the Avonlea shore road. I must have really hit my head hard. I came upon an apple orchard. Realizing for the first time how starving I was, I ran over to a tree to grab an apple when I tripped over something. I fell down hard on my knees and hands. Brushing off, I turned around and sat, staring.  
  
"This is really freaky. How can you, of all people, be here?"  
  
Mike opened his eyes from a night of sleep and squinted at me.  
  
"I don't know. Thi-  
  
"Ok, ok. Wrong question. When did you get to this apple orchard?"  
  
"I was wandering around and I was so tired that I just kinda fell asleep here."  
  
"Oh." He stood up, stretching. I looked over him and burst out laughing. He wore a collared shirt with brown pants and brown suspenders. He also had a cap on his head.  
  
"What?"  
  
I giggled. "Got tired of Abercrombie and Fitch?"  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"Ann!" Sara and Mell came running. They looked confusedly at Mike.  
  
"This is Mike, the sophomore I know." It looked like they were going to laugh too, but Mike was still glaring at me, tall and annoyed.  
  
"OK, let's get this settled, once and for all." I said, "Nobody knows how we got to Avonlea, Prince Edward Island. Supposedly, this is my fantasy, but I'm NOT dreaming."  
  
"Children?" a woman's voice came from behind us. We turned and my mouth dropped.  
  
"I'm Mrs. Rachel Lynde and I'm wondering as to why you're here in my orchard before school hours."  
  
"Well, we-  
  
"--were hungry." I finished. "And we aren't exactly in school."  
  
"What do you mean?" Mrs. Lynde said, "Well, I'll just take you to the schoolhouse myself and get you in. You four must be new. I believe I have some extra readers from when my children were young. You can have those for the time being. Come, I'll get you some breakfast."  
  
We followed her down to the white house that Sara, Mell and I had passed yesterday. After some bone-sticking oatmeal, as my mother would have said, we were sent off to the Avonlea school with Mrs. Lynde. I was totally out of my mind, but my companions weren't so happy about it.  
  
"I can't believe we have to go to school, even when we don't have to go to school."  
  
"I thought this would be a break."  
  
"I'm gonna miss football practice."  
  
We stepped inside the crowded schoolhouse and the chatter stopped. A short, thin man with red hair and round glasses stood up and asked for our names. I was meeting Mr. Philips. He was just as awful in reality as in the book. We were seated in the back and Mrs. Lynde told us to come to her house for dinner. I heard Mell whisper, "Then where do we go for lunch?"  
  
As I opened my book and looked around the one room classroom, I could tell this was going to be a lot of fun. 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three  
  
We ended up staying at Mrs. Lynde's house that night. Mike got a couch in the little room off the kitchen, Mell and I shared the big room and Sara got her own little room.  
  
"How come you get your own room?" I had asked her.  
  
"Because I'm special." "You are not." "Are too." "Are not." "Are too." "Are not." "Are too." "Basil-lover."  
  
"Anne-freak!"  
  
"Shut up."  
  
The third day we spent in Avonlea Mrs. Lynde sent us to school early in the morning. I was eager for I knew who'd be there.  
  
"Come on, let's go."  
  
A groan came from under the blankets.  
  
"Come on, Mike, you're holding us up. Let's go!"  
  
He picked himself off the couch, still wearing the same weird-looking suspenders and brown pants. I dragged him to the door and pushed him out, followed by me, then Sara and Mell. We walked slowly through the path we went yesterday.  
  
"I want my discman." Mell moaned.  
  
"I need my Elton music." Sara dragged her feet.  
  
"Oh, come on you guys, cheer up, this is going to be fun." I tried to encourage them.  
  
"For you maybe," Mike protested.  
  
I gave him a look. "Sara come on, pretend we have our Billy Joel songs. 'And we're living here in Allentown.'"  
  
Sara looked at me and tried to raise an eyebrow. I exhaled and put my hands out in front of me in annoyance.  
  
" 'You may be right, I may be crazy.'"  
  
"Ya got that right." "Look, here's the school." I grabbed Sara's hand and beckoned the other two forward. Groups of students were surrounding the little white washed building. I gazed around excitedly. A boy with bug eyes was talking with another boy with dark hair and hazel eyes. Ah, Charlie Sloane and Gilbert Blythe. Gil's just as cute as he's described in the books, I thought. Sara must have thought so too because she whistled under her breath.  
  
I looked around at the other groups. Diana Barry, Ruby Gillis, Jane Andrews, yeah, they were all there. Man, I wanted to scream and jump up and down. And then, a red-haired girl appeared on the other side of the playground. I almost passed out. I looked happily around at my friends, but only Mike was there. Mell was over talking with a group of girls, showing them the "Weezer sign" with her fingers and they were looking at her confusedly. I giggled and tried to find Sara. She was introducing herself to some girls near the school steps.  
  
A bell rang from the front door of the school and everyone ran over to the front door. I tried to slow up to walk next to the girl with the red hair, but she was talking with Diana Barry. 'Figures,' I thought. We took our same seats in the back with me sitting with Mike and Sara and Mell behind us.  
  
"Now, class," Mr. Phillips started, "We're going to start with English today. Students in Readers five and six, please." That was us.  
  
"Today is plots and themes, etc. What is the mood of Edgar Allen Poe's story, 'The Tell-Tale Heart'?"  
  
I guffawed and Sara's hand shot up behind me.  
  
"Yes, Miss.um." "Sara, please." "Yes?"  
  
"The mood is rather mysterious and frightening."  
  
"Correct."  
  
This went on for a while, until it was spelling time. I moaned inwardly. We were told to stand up and he'd tell us a word in order of our seating. Finally he got to me.  
  
"Ann, correct?" "Yeah."  
  
"Please spell: rendezvous."  
  
I promptly spelled it for him, sighing with relief.  
  
The next subject was math. Not my strongest suit, especially geometry, I smiled, it wasn't for Anne Shirley either.  
  
"Does anyone want to do a sample problem?" Mr. Philips asked, looking around. Sara's hand, of course, raised.  
  
"Yes, come up please." Sara walked up to the blackboard and picked up a piece of chalk. Quickly she started writing down numbers and equations that made my jaw drop.  
  
"So the answer is x = 12." She turned around and smiled at Mr. Philips. He was staring at the board covered in numbers. He raised an eyebrow. The whole class was silent. Sara looked around and walked back to her seat, whispering to Mell, "Wasn't it good I had that math test before we got here?"  
  
By the time we had gotten through past dinner and afternoon subjects, Mike had fallen asleep at his desk. At the end of the day, I pricked him with a pencil in his forearm. He jumped and sat up, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"Oh, I had this really weird dream where we were stuck in this old- fashioned school."  
  
He took his hands away from his from his eyes and looked around.  
  
"Oh, shoot." Except he didn't say shoot. Several heads turned with surprised looks on their faces. I shrugged at them and gave a hollow little laugh. The heads turned away, but I still felt a little uneasy with these wholesome, religious folk.  
  
The four of us walked back through the woods to Mrs. Lynde's house in the afternoon sunlight.  
  
"Jeez, you were really good in there, Sara," Mell complimented.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"The look on their faces when you explained DNA and its uses." I laughed.  
  
"I can't believe we have homework."  
  
"Oh, come on, Mike, this is a whole different century. It'll be easy." "How long do we have to be here?" Mike asked.  
  
"I have no idea." "And what day is it?" "I think it's Friday." "Yes, no school tomorrow."  
  
Saturday. It was a hot and muggy day. It must be June in Avonlea. We sat around the house being bored until Mrs. Lynde came into our rooms, complaining.  
  
"You know, there's Barry's Pond away over the hill. Why don't you get off your lazy bones and have a swim?"  
  
We took this offer jovially and ran off over the hill.  
  
"But, wait, they haven't made swimsuits yet, so, what do we wear?" Mell asked.  
  
"Petticoats." I answered, grinning. "I'm not wearing a petticoat in front of him," she pointed at Mike. "Well, you have no choice and people around here don't care."  
  
We stripped behind a bush to the little white dresses we wore under our school clothes. Mike did a cannonball in his clothes giving out a wild whoop. Us girls looked at each other and stepped gingerly out from behind the bush. I ran into the cool, refreshing water and dipped my head under. Sara and Mell soon followed, Mell leaving her glasses on a rock.  
  
We splashed and dunked each other. In a burst of laughter, Sara, Mell and I started singing "Uptown Girl." Mike looked weird at us and jumped under water. He came back up spluttering.  
  
"I wish I had my nose plugs, but somebody stole them." He looked at me. "Hey, don't look at me. It was Melissa and Kate."  
  
"Yeah, sure."  
  
He dived under, pinching his nose and grabbed my ankles, tipping me over and under. I swam back up and I got Sara and Mell to help dunk him.  
  
After a couple hours, we got out and lay on the grass, gasping for breath.  
  
"Now, tell me that wasn't fun, you guys." I looked around at them. "Yeah, it's fun because it's what we usually do in the summer and not just in Avonlea or whatever this place is." "So? You still had fun here and it's a start. I'm going to make it so you'll love it here."  
  
"Whatever, Ann."  
  
I gazed over Barry's Pond, still taking short breaths and saw a flash of red go past the bushes. 


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four  
  
I gasped. "What?" Sara looked at me.  
  
"N-nothing. Hold on a sec, I'll be right back."  
  
I got up, knowing they were watching me in silence, and ran off towards the trees. I thought I saw her, she had to be there. I crept past a giant oak, wincing after my bare foot came in contact with a stick.  
  
"Anne?" I whispered. "Are you there?"  
  
No answer. But I know I saw something. I walked a little further, past some fur trees. I heard a rustle above me and a pinecone dropped and hit my shoulder. I looked up and stared into the face of Anne Shirley. I screamed, I really did. So did she. She dropped out of the tree and lay sprawled on the grass.  
  
"Oh my God, are you okay?" I asked, kneeling down.  
  
"I think so. Just frightened me is all. I was just watching the sunshine glitter through the tree boughs and I didn't even notice someone was coming. I'm fine, really." She sat up and brushed off her dress. I stared at her with an open mouth.  
  
"What is it? Do I have something on my face? Besides the obvious freckles?" Anne put her hands up to her face.  
  
"No, no, just-um, nothing," I stuttered, kicking myself mentally. I noticed her gazing at me. Then I heard feet running towards us. Sara, Mell and Mike came up to us, stopping and clutching their knees.  
  
"We heard a scream (gasp, gasp)-came running," Mell got out. I looked over them. Mike looked soaked. I raised an eyebrow; we were out of the water a while.  
  
"Oh, he fell in. Caught his toe on a rock." Sara jerked her thumb at Mike. I giggled, then stopped, remembering Anne.  
  
"Oh, you guys, this is Anne Shirley." I glanced at Sara, who winked at me.  
  
"How did you know my name?" Anne asked, standing up. She was a good deal taller than me.  
  
"Um, lucky guess?" I bit my lip. I heard some snuffling from my friends.  
  
"Sara, shut up."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
Anne looked at our strangely adorned group. Mike standing soaked in his clothes and all three girls in our underclothes.  
  
"Oh, um, we just went swimming," I said, "Why don't you come with us? We're just going to dress."  
  
"Um, all right."  
  
We traveled back over the bridge to where our stuff was and quickly donned our school dresses.  
  
"So," I said, rubbing my head with a towel, "Anne, these are my friends, if you haven't already guessed. This is Sara."  
  
Sara shook Anne's hand. "I've heard so much about you, Miss Shirley." I gave her a look.  
  
"And this is Mell."  
  
Mell shook her hand too. "Pleased to meet ya. Know any Ben Folds?"  
  
"No, how many are there?"  
  
"Well, he's-uh-never mind."  
  
"And this is Mike."  
  
He shook her hand. "Nice to meet you," he mumbled, giving a slight grin.  
  
We stood there for an uncomfortable moment, staring at each other.  
  
"Are you new here?" Anne asked.  
  
"Well, sort of. We came a couple days ago and we're staying with Mrs. Rachel Lynde."  
  
"Really? I'm new too and I live just up the road at Green Gables, with Miss Marilla and Mr. Matthew Cuthbert. Why don't you all lay off your things there? I'm sure Marilla's about to have tea."  
  
"Oh, tha-  
  
"Sure we will!" I said, rather loudly. My friends followed me, rolling their eyes, down to Green Gables. Marilla greeted us far more welcome than the last time we stopped there. We sat down rigidly at her kitchen table. Anne seemed rather excited to have us here.  
  
"Marilla! Set the teapot there, please, so everyone can reach it. There! So tell me a little about yourselves. Where did you all come from?"  
  
"Fairfield, Connecticut." We answered together.  
  
"Oh, you're from the States. That explains the accents."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"And why did you decide to come here?"  
  
"Oh, Ann wanted to come here. We're just her carry-on." Sara replied.  
  
"Oh, is that your name?" Anne looked at me. "Isn't that a funny coincidence?"  
  
"It sure is," I smiled through clenched teeth, glaring at Sara.  
  
We stayed there through lunch and finally left mid-afternoon. As we were walking up the lane, I caught up with Sara.  
  
"Hey, you, cut it out with the Anne jokes, ok?"  
  
"Oh, come on, you know you would do the same thing if we had been transferred to Baker Street."  
  
"Well-yeah, I would. But that's no excuse. Leave me alone."  
  
"Fine, fine. Anne-girl." She muttered my nickname. I rolled my eyes.  
  
"Man, I need a shower." Mell said, yawning, "this place sucks, there's no easy access to hot water."  
  
"You'll have to do it the hard way, Mell."  
  
It took five hours that night for the four of us to take baths in the wooden tub Mrs. Lynde had. Half of the time, it was lugging kettles of hot water onto the back porch.  
  
The next day was Sunday. We were sent to sit in the Lynde pew in the local church. The church was the only thing I didn't like as much. The seats were uncomfortable and the service seemed to last for hours. When we finally got out, Anne came up to us and asked us to come to Green Gables for brunch. We agreed, or, well, I agreed. But my friends came anyway.  
  
The meal was delicious. Marilla really was a fabulous cook. Mike especially thought so. We watched him in shock as he polished off his fifth helping of what they called "hotcakes." Anne gave us a tour of the house. When she got to the parlor, I squealed with delight.  
  
"A piano! You have a piano!"  
  
"Yes, but nobody plays it. I cannot play. I devote my soul to books, I've never had a music lesson."  
  
"Never?" Sara asked in disbelief. "Sara," I said, thinking, this is not Fairfield High.  
  
I looked at Anne. "May I?"  
  
"Oh, of course you may." I sat excitedly at the piano. It was old-fashioned and black with a straight back and old, worn keys. I smoothed the keys with my fingers, gazing over the instrument. In gold letters over middle C, it said "Baldwin."  
  
"Hey, I have a Baldwin piano at my house too!"  
  
"Just play, Piano Ann!" Mell said, twiddling her fingers on the lower notes.  
  
"Ok, ok," I cracked my knuckles and started the beginning of "Piano Man."  
  
"Yeah!" Sara cried and sat next to me on the bench, "It's nine o'clock on a Saturday."  
  
I watched Anne out of the corner of my eye. She was looking at us with a strange expression on her face. When I finished the last three chords, I looked up. Sara and Mell whooped.  
  
"That was, um, an interesting song." Anne said.  
  
"It's my favorite out of Billy Joel. Oh." I faded away, forgetting that Billy Joel wasn't even born yet.  
  
"Hey, let me, I've been practicing." Sara pushed me over and began a familiar tune.  
  
" 'Your Song' sounds good." I said. "But let me play something that we'll all know."  
  
I sat back down and started the most famous hymn I could think of and sang the words of "A Mighty Fortress is our God."  
  
Anne joined in. That's one thing, I thought, that's different about us. She's totally tone deaf.  
  
"Ok, we're gonna teach you a song, Anne," Sara butt in during the second verse.  
  
"We don't have piano music for this, but whatever. Ok, ready?" She looked at Mell and me and held up three fingers, putting them down one at a time.  
  
"Uptown Girl!" we sang, "she's been livin' in her uptown world!"  
  
Anne smiled, but down underneath I could tell she thought we were crazy. And Mike just stood there, shaking his head.  
  
After the song, we grinned at Anne.  
  
"What kind of music is that? I've never heard of it."  
  
"Oh, it's from where we come from. You'll get to like it. We'll make sure of that." 


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five  
  
The four of us walked into school the next day a little happier than last week. Maybe. Mike still fell asleep during English.  
  
"Now today you have a French quiz on animal vocabulary, so divide into study groups and quiz each other." Mr. Philips walked to his usual spot in the back of the room with Prissy Andrews, studying for Queens. I gave a disgusted look at him and turned to my friends, taking out notes.  
  
"OK, what's first? A cow. Anyone? Anyone?"  
  
I looked around at Sara, Mell and Mike. Oh, yeah, they all took Spanish.  
  
"Well, that's um, une vache. Here, you guys, it's easy. The next one is frog, here Mell read it."  
  
"Le green oil."  
  
"No, no it's le grenouille."  
  
"Wait, a sec," Mell stopped me. "There's, like, ten letters and you're only using five of them."  
  
"Well, you should know, the double 'l' is like the Spanish 'yuh.' It's quite easy, really."  
  
Mell slammed her notes on the desk. "OK, you know what's easy? Frog. The 'g' sound is like the English 'guh.'"  
  
She shook her head. Sara looked quizzical at me.  
  
"This is too hard. Why can't everyone just speak English?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
We heard a snore. I leaned over to his ear.  
  
"Oh, my God, Mike, the building! It's burning down! What are we gonna do? AAHH!"  
  
He gasped, jumped to his feet, looking around frantically, then sat down, narrowing his eyes at me.  
  
"You'll pay for that."  
  
Meanwhile, the aisle next to us had some interesting happenings. Anne was sitting with Diana Barry two rows away and Gilbert sat across from me. I glanced over at him, and watched him fling little pieces of paper over at Anne. She was ignoring him. I knew then what was going to happen. I turned to Sara.  
  
"Sara! This is the part in my story with Sara Holbrook. Watch Gilbert."  
  
"Gladly." I raised my eyebrows a couple times, making my nostrils flare, that always made her laugh. She guffawed and looked across the aisle.  
  
All of a sudden, Gilbert reached over and grabbed Anne's braid and yanked, hissing, "Carrots! Carrots!"  
  
With glee, I watched Anne rise up from her chair, her face red as her hair, and grab her slate. She walked over to him and screamed, "How dare you!" and smashed the slate on his head. Man, it was even better watching it. I had to keep myself from yelling out with her. Mr. Philips rose up, face almost purple, and marched Anne to the board, telling her to write, "Ann (leaving out the 'e') Shirley has a very bad temper" one hundred times before leaving that day. She gave a defiant glare at him and watched him leave. I watched her at the front and saw her add an 'e' to her name. You have such guts, Anne Shirley.  
  
Mike was actually giggling. I turned at him, smiling. He looked at me and stopped, turning his head and whistling.  
  
After the bell rang at the end of the day, Anne asked to walk home with us, as it was in the opposite direction as Gilbert Blythe was walking in. The others got to the door of Mrs. Lynde's house, but I offered to walk her home.  
  
So we walked. I was thrilling from head to toe. I looked over at her.  
  
"You have real courage, Anne. I thought that you wouldn't actually do that in real life and that L.M. Montgomery-  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Oh, nobody." I gulped, realizing my mistake.  
  
"I never want to speak to Gilbert Blythe again. He hurt my feelings excruciatingly, Ann."  
  
"I know." I said, grinning. We walked in silence for a while, gazing over the hill towards the sky.  
  
"Isn't the sunset beautiful? I'm afraid to speak or move for fear all its loveliness will vanish-like a broken silence," she whispered.  
  
"You have beautiful country here." I whispered back, almost afraid.  
  
"I loved it the first time I came here, which wasn't too long ago." She looked up the road, towards the orchards.  
  
"Want to climb?" I asked.  
  
"Well, maybe for a little while. I'd love to."  
  
"Come on!" We ran over to the nearest tree. I half-expected my Sara Holbrook character to come over (A.N. - My other story, in case you haven't read it.) and talk to us. But nothing happened. We sat in the tallest limb possible and watched the sun slip past the green treetops, leaving behind trails of stardust and moonshine. I sighed, feeling that this was where I was always meant to be, not in 2002, where moments like this lasted five seconds.  
  
"There's a full moon tonight. It's such scope for the imagination on nights with full moons isn't there?" Anne replied, sighing with the wind.  
  
"There's scope for the imagination in almost everything." I answered, gazing out at the darkened horizon.  
  
"Why almost?"  
  
"Well, where I come from, there's isn't much scope for imagination. There isn't time for it."  
  
"But there is scope for imagination everywhere, Ann, sometimes you just have to look for it a little harder. Always remember that. It helps me get through such difficult times that try the soul."  
  
I gave a small smile. She was right, of course.  
  
"You are an amazing person, Anne Shirley."  
  
"As are you."  
  
There was a short pause. I looked for my watch, then remembered that watches that looked like ladybugs and hung on your belt loop weren't invented yet. I saw Anne reach inside her apron pocket.  
  
"Here," she handed me something small and silver, "it's a charm. I've had it for a long time. I guess it was my mother's, but I don't know. I just know that I've always had it."  
  
The charm was beautiful, shaped in a crescent moon and glittered in the moonlight.  
  
"Thank you, Anne. I'm very grateful to you."  
  
"Well, we'd better go. Marilla's probably waiting for me to come help with supper."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
We climbed down and walked in our separate directions.  
  
"It took two hours to walk Anne home?" Mike came up to me after I came in the door, "Come on, dinner's on the table. We're having chicken."  
  
That night, I lay in bed for a long time, thinking about what Anne said, after finding a chain for the moon charm, which I hung around my neck. I glanced over at Mell; she was sleeping soundly, drumming her hand on the bed. I knew what was in her head. Giggling, I fell into a deep sleep. 


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six  
  
I woke up clutching the moon charm. There was such a happy feeling in my chest that I wanted to jump and shout. I loved it here, just as I always thought I would. And my friends didn't seem to mind being here either.  
  
Over the next few weeks, we made friends with some of our classmates. Anne presented Sara, Mell and me to Jane Andrews, Ruby Gillis, Diana Barry, and even Josie Pye. Josie was just as snotty as she was in the books and I hated her from first look. She seemed to have this permanent sneer upon her face. And her nose always looks as if someone stuck something really disgusting underneath it. And the worst part about her was that she was filthy rich, wearing all the "latest fashions." Of course, I had to put that in quotes because Mrs. Lynde would be horrified to see the latest fashions in Fairfield, Connecticut.  
  
Mike, meanwhile had gotten quite chummy with Gilbert and Charlie Sloane and Moody Spurgeon. They had taken to the habit of playing football during dinner hour and recess. Let me tell you, it was great having recess again. It was like being a little kid again. Well, it's kind of impossible not to when you're in the same classroom as four-year-olds. Sara, Mell and I were invited to join the group of girls during dinner hour and got into the fun ritual of reading out loud and sharing each other's snacks with everyone. It was actually really fun. The current book they were reading was The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Sara went wholeheartedly into the discussion of this novel. She amazed the other girls with what she knew. Everyone loved to hear me read aloud, which boosted my confidence quite a bit. I had always loved to read aloud, but had never really done in front of anyone, save my little sisters. It was a new experience. I became not quite so quiet and shy with the girls of Avonlea and felt like a different person.  
  
Before I knew it, they had summer vacation. Finally, we could stay in bed as long as we wanted. The four of us went swimming everyday and there were picnics, picnics, picnics. It must have been the "thing" to have picnics. We were invited almost twice every week and it was very enjoyable. Even Mell had adjusted to singing without her discman.  
  
"I'm amazed you've lasted this long without your music, Mell," I said one evening sitting out on the porch with her and Sara. Mike was off somewhere.  
  
"I'm amazed at myself too," she replied. "and I'm getting used to the idea of no toaster ovens, no Weezer pictures, no microwaves, no air- conditioning, no heating, no electricity, no—  
  
"All right, we get the picture," Sara cut in.  
  
It was sunset and the day had been a hot humid one, just like a mid- July day should have been.  
  
"Just think—if we were at home, it would have been cold and windy and icy like November. Here we don't have to worry about that."  
  
"Oh, yeah, I totally forgot all about Fairfield." Mell said. "I'm actually having fun here. It's so laid back and life is not as fast and demanding as it is in 2002."  
  
"No piano lessons, no choir rehearsals, no dance classes, no annoying conformation classes…yup, life here is definitely good."  
  
We watched the sun dip below the hills and twilight filled the summer sky. I sighed and thought, life couldn't be better, it's so stressful in the future.  
  
We saw Mike jogging up to the house all sweaty and tired.  
  
"Another football game?" I asked in disbelief. "Is that all your life revolves around?"  
  
"No," he said, looking at me and gasping for breath. He collapsed on the porch stairs, ripping off his shoes.  
  
"Aaww!" Mell groaned, covering her nose. "Mike, that's awful!"  
  
"Sorry, we don't have real showers around here."  
  
"Still, you should try to keep some sanitary habits."  
  
Now, that we had been living together for quite some time, Sara and Mell had adjusted to Mike and had joined with me in the fun of tormenting him. It was so much more fun having more people on your side.  
  
"Well, we'd better go in," I said, pinching my nose and standing up. Mike, I could tell, was glaring at my back and I could hear him mumbling, "You are all out to get me, I swear to God."  
  
That's how the summer went the entire time. Swimming all day, then Mike would go off to play football with the "guys" and then he'd meet us on the porch at twilight and in between we'd have picnics with Anne and her friends. Mrs. Lynde didn't bother much with us and let us do as we pleased. We made sure to be extra polite to her, for without her we'd still be sleeping in the barn. I think she really began to like us, despite our "strange ways" as she calls them. Once, when Anne was over in the beginning of July, we were in Mell's and my room, rehearsing "Uptown Girl." She was actually getting the hang of it. We started this dance to it and it was really fun with the four of us. Mrs. Lynde had walked in with laundry and just shook her head, like we were crazy. I know she's telling about us to everyone she knows, just like her, the old gossip. Besides that everyone likes us for being fun, energetic, kind people, there's a rumor that we're all crazy. I don't blame her. We have such good times. Avonlea and me were really getting along well.  
  
September rolled along and all four of us had intentions of going for the beginning of the next term, not worrying about home because it was all too fun here. It really was like an extended vacation. Though it had its downfalls.  
  
Mr. Philips did exercises in history where we had to mention mistakes that had happened in the past. I made the mistake of shouting out, "Hitler and the Holocaust!" and everyone looked at me. I turned red, remembering that World War two hadn't commenced yet. School was really very easy, as they weren't so high-tech as we were, so we knew everything already. By October, we were all promoted to the seventh reader, the highest in the class. Still, we had no problems, except for geometry. I just couldn't get it. Anne and I would try to coach each other with the problems and we couldn't crack them. Sara once taught the class during a geometry session, trying to make it as easy as possible, but it didn't work. At least, I had thought, when I get back, I'd be a better math student.  
  
Socially, we were the pick of the year. Everyone wanted us at their parties. They were really sort of dull parties and we were invited only because we knew how to "liven things up a bit." Of course, we tried to tell jokes, but they didn't even understand the concept of "knock, knock" jokes, which made the jokes all the more funnier. We'd say "Knock, knock" and pretend to knock on a door and they would say, "But there's no door and couldn't you just ring the doorbell?" It was so hilarious watching their face expressions when we started singing and dancing to Billy Joel or some modern music. One time, we taught them all the Macarena and had them dancing till night had fallen, around and around in circles. By the end of that night, we were so sick of that song and quite dizzy. But it was quite a success. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven  
  
Before any of us could believe it, December hit. Avonlea was the prettiest place I've ever seen covered in a blanket of snow. They certainly got more snow than we did in 2002. But there was no such thing as snow days. We could be seen trudging through the drifts at nine o'clock in the morning to school. The girls were given moth-eaten coats to wear, but fresh, new scarves as a Christmas present. Mike was forced to wear Mrs. Lynde's late husband's coat, which was three sizes too small for the giant kid. By the beginning of winter, we had already had two storms and three feet of snow.  
  
Christmastime came so joyously, that we couldn't believe we had ever left home. It had been my dream to go on a horse-drawn sleigh, covered in furs and sleigh-bells. Well, my wish came true when Anne asked to come riding with her to Charlottetown to see the big Christmas tree they put up every year in the Charlottetown square.  
  
We were packed covered in cloaks, mufflers, gloves, scarves, and hats into the back seat of the sleigh, while Marilla and Matthew sat up in front. It was the best time I've ever had. I sat in between Anne and Mike. Sara and Mell were on either end. We talked and laughed merrily and sang carols all the way up the shore road.  
  
When we returned, Marilla asked us if we wanted to be their guests at the Christmas ball on Christmas Eve. I replied for all of us, answering an eager acceptance.  
  
So, two weeks later, Anne came into Mrs. Lynde's guest bedroom, with arms full of material.  
  
"Here, Sara," she handed her a dress of red gingham. "I thought that would do nice for you. Marilla picked out all of these materials, even something for Michael."  
  
I paused; nobody called him Michael except his parents. It turned out he had a pretty nice suit and tie.  
  
"I'm gonna look so stupid with this on," he had protested. But that made us giggle all the more and we made him put it on.  
  
"For you, Mell, is a cobalt blue dress. Very plain, nothing too fancy, like you wanted. I thought it would do well with the nut brown color of your hair."  
  
I watched Mell cringe slightly as she was made to put on stockings and special kid slippers.  
  
"For you, Ann, is a pine green. This would do with the nice color of your hazel eyes and blond hair."  
  
I smiled, wincing at the mention of blonde hair on my head and I heard Sara snigger. I picked up the dress anyhow. It felt soft under my fingertips and the material seemed light and flowy. Perfect. I slipped on the dress over a slip Anne had given me and smoothed it over, buttoning it in the back. It was long and fell right under my knees. The neck was scooped slightly and there were two sets of ruffles on the bottom. The sleeves were short and had tiny ruffles as well and the waist was slim and tied in a small bow in the back. I had ever seen anything so beautiful.  
  
"Oh, Ann," I heard Sara croon. I slipped on stockings and some black kid slippers and walked, almost floated in front of the mirror. I gasped.  
  
"Wow," I looked pretty good, considering…I scratched the side of my head with the remains of my bitten nails. Oh, well. Sara and I had the fun of putting our hair in curlers the night before. I took mine out now and the curls bounced loosely on the sides of my face.  
  
"Now, what to do with it…hmm," Anne looked at my head in different angles. "It's too short to do too much with it. But let's try something loose."  
  
She moved nimble fingers over my head, braiding and twisting. Man, I thought I was the hairdresser of the family. In five minutes, my hair was twisted into what looked kind of like a braided bun with loose curls falling about the sides of my face. I raised my eyebrows. I laughed at my reflection, then twirled around, gazing at the flying green about my waist.  
  
I watched Anne put Sara's hair into order. It was the same thing and with her red gown, it looked exquisite.  
  
"OK, are we done being so…so girlish?" Mell asked impatiently. I laughed again and curtsied.  
  
"Remember your manners, Miss Scalzi. Come on, let's go."  
  
Mike was waiting nervously in the hall by the front door. I could hear the carriage waiting outside. I stepped gingerly out into the hallway, curtsying to Mike and laughing, then grabbing my coat and scarf. He raised his eyebrows at us and I took that as a compliment.  
  
Finally, we were on our way to what promised to be a good night. Anne herself was dressed in green as well, but a pale green with a white rose tied in her belt.  
  
The hall where the ball was, was festooned with holly and mistletoe and wreathes and Christmas trees, everything. No party in 2002 could ever look so elegant as this one. I spotted Diana and her friends, and pulled Sara and Mell with me to join them. They were waiting anxiously by the punch table. Anne followed us after putting our coats away. Mike joined Charlie Sloane and Moody Spurgeon, watching us mysteriously.  
  
There was a waltz playing. I gazed at the dancers on the floor, hoping that someone would ask me to dance, though I didn't know how to do ballroom dancing. I saw a tall boy with dark hair on the other side, talking with Mike. I turned to Sara.  
  
"Hey, look who's here." I pointed, "It's Gilbert." I saw her blush and tread on my foot.  
  
"Ow!" I said, but I understood. He was coming over. He looked at Sara, who was trembling as I touched her hand.  
  
"May I have this dance?" he asked her. She nodded and curtsied. Nearly all the girls behind me sighed. I almost laughed, but I held it in. I watched them twirl away. Anne looked annoyed. I grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the music.  
  
"Come on, Anne!" we took hands and, laughing gleefully, twirled and stepped in time to the music. As I looked around, many of our classmates had found dance partners, even Mell, who looked strange in a old-fashioned dress, I had never seen her in one, was talking to some guy with glasses. Diana was talking with Moody and Jane with Charlie. As I looked at Charlie Sloane, I realized, he really was as bug-eyed as the book said he was, and just full of, well, Sloanishness. Then I saw Mike sitting by himself in the corner, drumming his fingers on his knee.  
  
"Hold on," I told Anne and ran over to him.  
  
"Hey, you," I yanked him off the chair, which was difficult, as he is twice as tall as me, "Need a dance partner?"  
  
"But I don't know how to—  
  
"You can stand on my feet. Wait, no, OW, I was kidding."  
  
The waltz was still going on and I tried unsuccessfully to teach Mike to dance, he kept stepping on my feet as well as others around him. I wish I had a video camera, but unfortunately, they weren't invented yet. I winked at Sara, who was still on the arm of Gilbert; she winked back and grinned a grin a mile wide. I looked down at Mike's feet and they were all messed up.  
  
"No, no, no. It's ONE, two, three, ONE, two, three. Yeah, almost, step, step, step, turn. OW!"  
  
It went like that for the rest of the waltz. When it finally stopped, I let go of Mike's sweaty hand and trudged over to the punch table, where Gilbert was buying Sara a glass of punch. I bought one as well and gasped out to Sara, "That's the last time I teach him anything! My feet will be sore for weeks!" Mike joined us, laughing, but was beet-red.  
  
"Dancing is much too hard," he sighed.  
  
"You make it too hard," I shook my head.  
  
The night ended triumphantly. Mike tried again on a gavotte, but it was too spirited for talking, so I couldn't yell instructions. It was quite late, when we climbed into the carriage, laughing and talking. I bit my lip to keep from giggling when I saw Sara come out on Gil's arm. He handed her into the carriage and was gone.  
  
"So how was your night?" I asked mischievously.  
  
She just smiled and giggled secretively.  
  
On our ride home, Mell fell asleep on Sara's shoulder. I stayed up, gazing at the silent falling snow against the fir trees. Avonlea looked like a snow globe, or the cover of a Christmas card. Christmas was so wonderful and that Gilbert was so cute! 


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight  
  
We dropped breathlessly into our beds that night, dreaming of holly and waltz's and warm toes (especially me.) The snow fell in slants across the window. There was something so peaceful about snow falling in slants past your window and you're in the warmth of the house watching it. It's so comfortable. But none of us really cared, for we fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.  
  
Christmas morning dawned bright and fair. We were to spend Christmas dinner at the Barrys with quite a few other classmates. I woke up at seven, yawning and stretching, and sliding out of my bed, wrapping my arms tightly around my flannel nightgown. I put on my slippers and yawned my way into the sitting room where the tree was. Mike was still sleeping on the couch. I sat in front of the tree, gazing up at it with wondering eyes. It was beautiful, even without electric lights spun around it. It looked so…so home-like, with its homemade ornaments and others given at special occasions. I guess no one had invented Baby's First Christmas yet, all of the ornaments were of wreaths and holly and other such greenery. Mike stirred next to me and squinted his eyes open.  
  
"Morning," he mumbled, turning over. I looked under the tree at the neatly wrapped presents and remembered some I had wrapped. I tiptoed back into the bedroom where Mell was still sleeping and grabbed some packages from under my bed to place them under the tree. I heard some movement in the other room and went to see if Sara was awake. I walked over to the door.  
  
"Shire…" I whispered into the knob, "Bagginsssssssss…"  
  
"Ann, come in, you Ringwraith," I heard a voice say. I opened the door, grinning.  
  
"So, what did you dream about?"  
  
She raised her eyebrows a couple times.  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"Oh, so there's more than one?"  
  
"Gil or Frodo?"  
  
I shook my head, laughing.  
  
"Merry Christmas, Sara."  
  
"Merry Christmas."  
  
Two hours later, after a delicious meal of bacon and eggs, we sat around the tree, giving out gifts. Mrs. Lynde handed us each a lumpy package. I opened mine to find a bright red, knitted scarf. Sara had purple, Mell had blue and Mike had green.  
  
I handed my presents out.  
  
"Here, Sara." It was small box, filled with tissue paper. She flipped open the top and pulled out a plain gold ring, with little engravings on it.  
  
"To go with your gold chain," I said.  
  
"It is perfect."  
  
"Mell, I got you this."  
  
She pulled out a bag of pencils.  
  
"Now, you'll have no excuse to say that you don't have any pencils to do your math homework or your doodling." She laughed.  
  
"And, yes, you Mike," I gave him a present.  
  
"A book?"  
  
"Yeah, in hopes you might start to like reading books, as you're in one currently."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"The Hound of the Baskervilles. Guess who helped me pick it out?"  
  
The day passed with continuous delights. Anne stopped by with cherry preserves Marilla had made and handing us all a gift. I received a journal, a pretty one with pale purple coverings and a plum colored ribbon as a bookmark.  
  
"It's beautiful," I told her and I gave her a hug.  
  
The Christmas party at the Barrys was the highlight of the day. Sara certainly enjoyed herself because the Blythes were there. Gilbert handed her a hair ribbon of royal blue, which she wore in her hair the entire time after.  
  
The Barrys also had a piano and we had fun going through any song we could think of and singing at the top of our lungs. Mr. Barry thought we had accidentally tried some of Marilla's red current wine.  
  
"All right, girls, teach us something," Mr. Barry cut in after "Jingle Bells."  
  
We looked at each other slyly.  
  
"OK," I said, "this one is called 'Grandma got run over by a reindeer."  
  
"How awful!" Mrs. Barry exclaimed.  
  
"It's just a song. Now, it goes like this: Grandma got run over by a reindeer, comin' down to our house Christmas Eve!"  
  
We sang and I tried to put it on piano. The group stared at us rather blankly.  
  
"Oh, come on you guys!" I cried, "this is a fun song! Everybody!"  
  
And we started the chorus over again. Slowly, some people started to join in. Then, everyone got the hang of it and joined in as well. Some children even started dancing around the sitting room and Mr. Barry even got out his fiddle. It sounded kind of weird, but it didn't matter because we were all having too much fun. It was so funny to watch the old ladies looking horrified at the lyrics. Oh, well, some people just can't wing it.  
  
The song ended with a bang. I swear I almost wet my pants, it was so hilarious. Before everyone left, we sang some verses of "Silent Night" with lit candles around the room and continued all the way on the walk home. It was very magical. Christmas in Avonlea was different and wonderful, but it did have a slight emptiness without the company of my family. But, I quickly shook that feeling off when Mrs. Lynde brought hot chocolate in bed with some cookies. I felt better right away and Sara came to sleep with us in our room. Mike came for a while until he got too tired and fell asleep on my sore feet. To wake him, we stuck an ice cube down his back. Another round of laughter followed as Mike raced around the room, hopping up and down and arching his back. The ice cube fell on the floor and eventually so did he. He collapsed on the carpet and gasped for a few minutes, catching his breath. Still trying to catch mine, I said, "Go to bed, Mike." And he went, most insulted and embarrassed, I could tell. 


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine  
  
"Ann! Sara! Mell! Here," Ruby ran over and gave us some slips of paper. We were back in school and it was early March. The weather had gotten warmer and Avonlea had never looked so pretty with its first buds of spring.  
  
I looked at the paper. It said:  
  
1.1 You are cordially invited to Ruby Gillis'  
  
15th birthday party at the Gillis household  
  
on April 2nd  
  
Please RSVP through Ruby  
  
By March 24th  
  
I gaped happily at the invitation. I looked around at my friends and decided to go. Even Mike got an invitation. Everyone in our class was invited. I couldn't wait.  
  
That evening, I sat on the porch listening to the sparrows singing in the nearby trees and thinking deep thoughts. It was warmer out than usual. Sara and Mell were out with Jane and Diana and Mike was supposedly playing football. I had decided not to go to either, preferring to sit in quiet solitude. The sun was slowly setting in the brightened sky, blending with wisps of purple and pink cloud. I sighed, twiddling with Anne's moon charm on the chain around my neck, thinking we had been here in Avonlea for almost a year. But, then, how did we get here?  
  
It was funny; I couldn't even remember how I got here. Did my family miss me? My stomach growled and I all of a sudden yearned for a big cheesy slice of pizza, complete with a towering glass of soda. Then I'd add a whole McDonalds's meal, with a huge chocolate shake, finally topping it off with a long Milky Way bar. Aw, it sounded so good right then. I slipped from my food fantasies when I heard footsteps through the woods. It was Mike, all sweaty and gross again. I didn't wave, just kinda stared through him at an invisible world. But it was different this time. It was a picture of a house with three younger sisters waiting by the door and a mom and a dad, in the kitchen sipping coffee and laughing. It was a bedroom complete with a bunkbed and a huge desk filled with pictures of a girl's life. It seemed so real, yet so far away.  
  
"What are you thinking about?" Mike asked, collapsing on the stoop.  
  
"Fairfield," I answered absently.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I haven't thought about it in a long time."  
  
"Oh." I could tell he was confused. I continued my evening musings out loud.  
  
"Remember when we spent, my sisters and I, with you and your brother in your pool, all summer long?"  
  
"Yeah, so…"  
  
"So. I miss it. I miss my house, my mom and dad, Melissa, Kate, and Sara."  
  
"Even Melissa?"  
  
I gave him a look. "Oh, come on, I bet you are so homesick."  
  
"No."  
  
I cocked my head to one side in disbelief. "You mean, you don't miss your brother at all?"  
  
"No."  
  
I looked at him again, with a come-on-be-serious look. He looked back at me.  
  
"Well, all right, maybe a little of my parents." I kept staring at him.  
  
"And my brother."  
  
"Thank you, I knew I wasn't the only one."  
  
"But it's so different here. It's such a fast life in Fairfield. There's no time for what we're doing right now."  
  
"I know. That's partly why I wanted to come here anyway."  
  
"Why here, though, of all places?"  
  
I rolled my eyes. "Maybe you should read the books, then figure it out."  
  
He sat in silence, gazing out at the lines of trees against the blazing sky. It was a while before either of us said anything. It was a little awkward.  
  
"I do," he said.  
  
"Do what?" I answered.  
  
"Miss it. I miss it all."  
  
  
  
The day of Ruby's party arrived and I couldn't wait for it to begin. We were given new clothes to wear to the occasion. Rachel Lynde did them up herself. We begged her not to, said we'd get them ourselves, since she'd done so much already for us, but she insisted and made them for us anyway. I was dressed that day in a red burgundy short sleeve dress, nothing too fancy, but good for a party. I helped Sara button up her pale purple gown, which reminded me of spring flowers, especially in Violet Vale, where Anne had taken us through last week for the first time. It really was beautiful, by the way, all covered in lines and lines of purple all over the fields.  
  
Anyway, we forced Mell into another blue one, because she refused to wear the pink one Mrs. Lynde had gotten. Mike simply wore a nice pair of pants and those funny-looking suspenders.  
  
The party looked so elegant. There were tables set up around a little garden full of young flowers. Each table had a set of doilies on it and pretty china. It was obviously her mother's best. We even had assigned seating. I was with Sara, Josie Pye, Diana Barry, and Anne Shirley. Mell sat with Ruby and Jane and Mike with Gilbert, Charlie and Moody. We began with a serving of fruit cups. It was like a buffet. Afterwards, as the lunch was not ready yet, the girls started up the 'daring game.' I remembered this from the book. First Ruby dared Jane to hop around the garden three times on one foot without stopping once or putting the other foot down. Sara and I raised our eyebrows, what a stupid dare. But it wasn't as easy as it seemed. Jane got around the pretty big garden in actuality two times and stopped, breathless, halfway around the third. Jane then dared Josie to walk the picket fence. Knowing what was coming, I watched Josie climb gracefully onto the fence and walk it without difficulty. She jumped down, smirked at Jane and looked around at the rest of the crowd, thinking who she would dare next.  
  
Knowing before I spoke, I said, "I don't think it was such a big deal to walk a little fence like that. Besides, I knew of a girl who could walk the ridgepole of a roof."  
  
"I don't believe it. You certainly couldn't little miss know-it-all."  
  
I glared at her fiercely.  
  
"I dare you," she said, "I dare you, Ann, to walk the ridgepole of Ruby's kitchen roof."  
  
Several people gasped. I stood my ground, beginning to sweat.  
  
"But that isn't a fair dare."  
  
"What are you? A chicken?"  
  
"No, I'm not. And I will, Miss Josie Pye. I will walk that ridgepole or die trying."  
  
I heard Sara gulp behind me. Maybe that was too harsh a sentence for such a great girl.  
  
"Well, maybe not die, per say. But you know what I mean."  
  
I walked over to the ladder, angry, and started to climb it. I heard Sara whimpering underneath me.  
  
"Ann, come on, it's not a fair dare."  
  
I knew what happened to Anne in the book. But she wasn't doing it this time, I thought, as I stepped up slowly. Mell was coming underneath me, followed by Mike and Anne. Gilbert came over and put an arm around the pale Sara. I felt a little better, watching that with a weak smile. Finally the top came into view. I wasn't going to fall like Anne. I was going to make it across and show that brat of a Josie just what it means to be a Victor (which is my last name, by the way). Taking small, careful steps, I moved my way across to the little chimney that stuck out of the roof. I grabbed it and set my balance straight and stood up. I looked down, God it was high. Anne was there, gazing up at me with those grey eyes of hers. I would not fail. Sara was gripping Gilbert's hand very tightly, watching my every move. Mell looked up with her eyes set upon my feet, watching to make sure they didn't make any sudden moves. Mike stayed by the edge in case I fell.  
  
Breathing deeply, I took one small step. I hear Anne's line running through my head, "But there is scope for imagination everywhere, sometimes you just have to look harder." I will make it to the other end. Again, I glanced down and saw Anne. She nodded at me, telling me to go on. I proceeded, shaking uncontrollably, staring straight ahead at my destination. I would not make Josie look triumphant. I glanced down at my feet, shakily taking steps. Wobble, wobble, I gasped and steadied myself.  
  
Keep going, keep going. OK, good, halfway there, three-quarters…then I lost my footing and went tumbling down the other side, into the Virginia creeper. I heard a scream and Sara came into my blurred view.  
  
"It's OK, Ann. It's OK," she kept looking back at Josie and giving her dirty looks. My mind was all blank, what was happening? Then, Anne's face came into view also. Black started filling the wells of my eyes. I saw a glint of red and everything disappeared into the blackness. 


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten  
  
I didn't want to open my eyes. I was too tired, too achy to move. I smelled the sweet smell of wet grass. Wait a minute, wet grass? I opened my eyes, slowly. I was soaked through. I was lying in the middle of my backyard, with this great big branch on top of me. But I can't remember how I got here.  
  
"Anne!" I called out into the wind. I looked around and realized I was home. And I was wearing normal clothes again: my wet raincoat and jeans.  
  
Then what was all that? All of Avonlea and Mrs. Lynde's house and Sara, Mell and Mike and…and Anne? Where did it all go?  
  
I pushed the branch off me and slowly stood up. There was an aching pain in my lower back, but I didn't know why. Also, my ankle hurt as I put weight on it. I must have really fallen hard. I started walking up the hill to my house, when I stepped on something. I picked it up and looked at it. It was my Anne book. On the cover was the smiling face of a girl with red hair and grey, green eyes. And it all came to me. I MET her. HER, on the page! Oh, man, that was so cool! I grinned at my book, tucked it under my arm and ran inside.  
  
"Oh my God, Annie, where have you been?" my mother took me in her embrace roughly. I smiled into her shirt.  
  
"I've been gone so long. It was almost a year. I'm sorry I didn't write, but that would have been difficult—  
  
"We were looking for only you twenty minutes."  
  
"But, I was gone all that time with Anne of Green Gables in Avonlea and Sara was there and Mell and Mike and—  
  
"Ouch, look at that bump on your head. You must have hit it really hard. It looks awful. Here, honey, let me put some ice on it."  
  
Giving up, I allowed her to put some ice on the huge bump that ascended from my forehead, all black and blue. She brought me into the bathroom and took my raincoat, telling me to take a shower.  
  
Reluctantly, I pulled off my sweatshirt to my tank top underneath. As I tossed it to the floor, I noticed something glittery on my neck. Reaching up, I felt a small gold chain with a charm that looked like a moon. I screamed.  
  
Of, course, my mother came running up.  
  
"What? What is it?"  
  
"N-nothing, Mom. Just my bump looks really bad."  
  
"I know, dear, but it'll go down soon enough."  
  
I gaped in disbelief at the moon charm. Was it really real? Did that really happen? No way, no way, no way! That's impossible, Mom said I was gone twenty minutes. That could never have happened in that short amount of time. But, could it have?  
  
That night I went to bed in kind of a haze.  
  
"Aren't you going to read your Anne book?" Melissa asked sarcastically.  
  
"I don't have to read it. I LIVED it!" I said triumphantly.  
  
"OK," she rolled her eyes.  
  
On Monday, I could not wait to get to Mell and Sara to see what they thought of our recent adventures, or Mike. I had brought with me my Anne of Green Gables book.  
  
"Hey, Ann, how was your weekend?"  
  
I smiled wickedly.  
  
"Oh, nothing special, I just went to Avonlea for a year."  
  
Sara actually laughed.  
  
"Didn't do anything either? Yeah, my weekend was pretty dull. Same old, same old."  
  
"Same old? Same old?" I cried in disbelief. "Don't you remember?"  
  
"Remember what?"  
  
"Avonlea! Anne Shirley! Mrs. Lynde!"  
  
Her mouth opened, but she didn't say anything. She was looking at me, like I was stark mad. Maybe I was. I felt like it, until I reached in my collar for the gold chain.  
  
"Look, see? This is from Anne!"  
  
"Sure it is, Ann."  
  
Mell walked up to our table. We both turned and looked at her in surprise. She looked in between us, back and forth.  
  
"What did I do? Whatever it is, I'm leaving. Bye!"  
  
"No, wait!" I cried out.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You remember, right? Sara doesn't think it happened, but you'll remember, right?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"STOP SAYING THAT! Tell me you remember!"  
  
"Remember what, Ann?"  
  
"Avonlea? Anne Shirley? Guy with specks?"  
  
"You mean Rivers? Yeah, I saw him this weekend on my album cover."  
  
I groaned and turned back to Sara.  
  
"You have to remember Gilbert! He was all over you!"  
  
"Really? Is he cute?"  
  
I looked from one to the other. Sighing, I realized it really had been my fantasy.  
  
At lunch, my friends were still looking at me weird, as if I were to burst any moment. I had gotten over the shock of them not knowing and had elapsed into my Anne book, giggling at the parts we took part in. I wonder if Anne remembered "Uptown Girl."  
  
I took the liberty of keeping the secret to myself, which they probably preferred. All of a sudden, a hand pulled my book from my face.  
  
"Same book as Friday?" a familiar voice spoke. I smiled up at Mike.  
  
"What's so great about this book anyway?"  
  
"You'd be surprised. You should know anyway, you were there."  
  
"OK, I'll bet you had an interesting weekend."  
  
"Oh, I did. One that I'll remember always."  
  
"OK, well, um, bye."  
  
I watched him pass me quickly and I smiled. There is scope for imagination in 2002 and I had just found it.  
  
THE END  
  
Epilogue (Sara and me walking to English class)  
  
"So you're saying that you went to Avonlea with me, Mell and Mike?"  
  
"Yeah. I can't believe you don't remember."  
  
"It's your fantasy."  
  
I shook my head.  
  
"So, where you going next?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean, you went to Avonlea, right? So, where's next?"  
  
"I don't know. Hey, what about Harry Potter?"  
  
Sara shook her head at me.  
  
"Nuh-uh. You got to pick this time. So it'll be my fantasy next. Sherlock Holmes."  
  
"Harry Potter."  
  
"Sherlock Holmes."  
  
"Harry Potter."  
  
"Sherlock Holmes."  
  
"Harry Potter."  
  
"Sherlock Holmes."  
  
"Harry Potter."  
  
"Sherlock Holmes."  
  
"Harry Potter."  
  
"Sherlock Holmes."  
  
"Harry Potter."  
  
THE END (maybe) 


End file.
